A large variety of beds for outdoor sleeping are available on the market. Outdoor portable beds are generally used for camping, sleeping in rustic settings, or for relaxing at places like the beach. Most outdoor beds fold in some manner to make storage and carrying easier. Such beds are usually constructed with a metallic or wood frame with a fabric membrane stretched tightly across the frame as the sleep surface and are usually called cots. The alternatives to cots for camping are foam pads, air mattresses, and hammocks. Cots are generally considered to be more comfortable than foam pads or air mattresses, but are usually much heavier. Backpackers, motorcycle riders, kayakers, bicyclists rarely carry cots since they are too large, even when folded, and are too heavy. Lightweight travelers would like to have a comfortable bed that was as lightweight as a foam pad and folds down to a small size to fit in a backpack. However, cots are typically about 12 inches tall and 7 feet long and will not fit inside a typical lightweight camping tent. Hammocks can be small and light, but require two trees or poles to function. Many camping sites have no trees or poles. Hammocks also deliver a very curved sleeping surface that is not at all like the planar bed at home, causing most users to be unable to sleep well.
Beach visitors may prefer a bed that is compact in the car and comfortable on the beach. Families with limited space may like to have an easy to store spare bed for overnight guests. A common complaint from users of cots is that they stretch and collapse. This happens because the tubular frame design is easy to accidentally overstress. Common fabrics will gradually stretch to the point of sagging to the ground. Since the bed is a foot above the floor, it is easy for a heavy person to produce stresses that break the frame or tear the fabric. Therefore, there is a need for an improved support apparatus for persons and other objects.